Pittsburgh Penguins' Tanner Glass (10) can't get to the puck past Philadelphia Flyers' Nicklas Grossmann, of Sweden (8), as Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, of Russia, and Andrej Meszaros, of the Czech Republic (41) look on during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan.19, 2013, in Philadelphia. Penguins won 3-1. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

PHILADELPHIA — While the Flyers didn’t make as much offensive noise as they could have in their season-opening, 3-1 loss to the Penguins Saturday, the best news is that there weren’t any defensive warning bells to be heard.

Back on the blue line, the Flyers played a steady game, and for the most part kept Penguins wizards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin quiet. Better than that, the Flyers’ Andrej Meszaros had mostly good things to say about getting back on the ice after offseason surgery on an Achilles tendon.

“I felt better than I thought I would feel,” Meszaros said. “So that’s a good sign, you know? It doesn’t matter how I felt though, because we lost.”

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Actually, with one long look at the Flyers’ blue line roster, Meszaros’ impressive play on this day essentially spoke volumes to a Flyers team that has to be concerned about its defensive depth for the long haul.

Meszaros played in the Flyers’ last game last spring, a Game 5 loss to the Devils May 8. Before that, he hadn’t played since injuring himself March 1. He rehabbed but delayed surgery until the offseason, getting only that one playoff game as a reward.

Now, things are looking up.

“Short shifts,” he said about the secret to his success. “I tried to keep it simple and work on my game. As the game went on I started to feel more comfortable. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out right for us, but I felt good.”

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While Meszaros was trying to find his way back to NHL form, junior rookie Scott Laughton was playing his first professional game. At 18 and with just two full junior hockey seasons on his resume, Laughton centered a third line between Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read.

“It’s tough looking across the ice and seeing Sidney Crosby, a guy you’ve been looking up to,” Laughton said. “You watch those guys on TV, it’s tough. You just have to play your game and not worry about it.”

Laughton won what is considered at least a temporary spot on the club out of the six-day training camp with sharp play, but also because Danny Briere is out with a wrist fracture. Laughton should be here at least through five games, at which time the Flyers will have to decide to send him back to the OHL or not.

Laughton, who hails from Oakville, Ont. failed a tryout this season for Team Canada’s World Juniors team. A 10-game suspension he had to serve at that time for a check from behind didn’t help his chances. But perhaps the experience helped.

“You always want to represent your country,” Laughton said. “But I went back to junior and we had a lot of guys out, and I developed my game. So being left off really helped me make this team for the first game.”

Now he’s hoping to be in the lineup for the Flyers’ second game, a 12:30 start today in Buffalo. Laughton generally impressed Flyers coach Peter Laviolette in this opener, so he has a good chance to do so. If he plays, he may have a few friends on hand. Laughton hails from Oakville, Ont., about 45 minutes outside of Buffalo.

“Hopefully,” he said, “I’m in the lineup.”

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NOTES: The Flyers’0-for-5 performance on the power play wasn’t as bad as it would seem. They did put much pressure on the Pens there. But they seriously missed not having Briere, who specializes in finishing on the power play. As for the Flyers’ overall performance against the Pens? “I’m not going to lie,” Claude Giroux said. “The first period was kind of ugly. Guys were just trying to put their legs back in the game and the system was a little sloppy. But I think in the second and third we played better.” Penn State and Vermont squared off at Wells Fargo Center Saturday night after the game. Flyers chief operating officer Peter Luukko’s son Nick played for Vermont.